Little could have prepared me for the scale of these huge rides. You can see the sheer size of them as you walk towards the Subtropical Swimming Paradise from outside.

Huge tubes snake around the side of the pool building and the mammoth cones really stand out. I knew I was in for a ride like no other.

Upon entering the pool area I clocked the newly revamped Venture Bay and Venture Harbour play areas. These new areas obviously weren’t going to excite thrill seekers but will be great fun for families with young children.

They are littered with mushrooms spouting water, brightly lit tubes and water spouts for children to run around in.

They would certainly be great areas to let your children splash around in.

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Past this, however, are the two new water rides – Typhoon and Tropical Cyclone.

I only needed myself to go and ride Typhoon, so off I went. You must first pick up your raft which comes with two seats. You then need to climb the stairs all the way to the top of the ride.

As you get to the top there is a queuing area, but as there was no one queuing I headed straight for the ride.

You are presented with a panel on which you must select the theme you want to experience as you go down the ride. There are options such as rainbow, winter, summer and more. I opted for Atlantis.

At the bottom - Ellie Simmonds reaches the end of the new Tropical Cyclone slide at Longleat Forest Center Parcs

I jumped into my raft and was set off down the flume. You can immediately see the theme at play in the ride. Dark blue lighting guided me through the tubes until I was suddenly plunged into one of the cones.

You hit a mass of water which splashes you right in your face and then you’re tossed from side to side until you exit the cone. This ride doesn’t contain any sound. It doesn’t need to. You’re too gripped by the speed at which you’re travelling.

It was over in just under minute and I was raring to give it another go. I had to go and test Tropical Cyclone, however. Certainly not a bad alternative.

For this I had to recruit two volunteers. Two young girls from the Warminster and District Amateur Swimming Club agreed to help.

You do not need to bring the raft to the top of the stairs yourself in this ride. It is sent via conveyor belt to the top.

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We passed a height restriction sign on the way to the top – so take note if you have very young children. It is unlikely they will be able to use the ride.

There was a little more of a queue for this ride. This was no problem, however, it gave us more time to decide upon a theme. Sadly I did not get much say in the matter.

Upon deciding the theme we readied ourselves for the ride. For this your raft consists of four seats which all face each other – you get to see the look of terror in each other’s eyes as you plummet down the flume. Ok, so not everyone might have terror in their eyes. Just me perhaps.

We were all seated by a staff member and sent on our way. It was immediately obvious just how much larger this ride was than typhoon. The tubes were huge.

With this ride we also had sounds as we passed through the flume. I couldn’t get too comfortable though. We were immediately sent down what felt almost like a vertical drop and I felt no gravity for around two seconds.

Even worse, I’d drawn the short straw and was going down the ride backwards. After this frightening plummet we found ourselves in the mammoth cone I have spoken of before. It was absolutely huge and projections, lights and sounds were all in play here.

Soon after this we entered the tube once again but only a few seconds later I found myself with another face full of water as we plummeted into yet another cone.

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After this the ride was over, but what a ride. It was certainly much more thrilling than Typhoon and the highlight of the revamp.

If you’re after an exciting water ride then this is certainly for you. I thanked my two volunteers who had put up with my screaming and went to return the raft.

I could have spent all day going round those rides. If you’re after a family weekend away then this is certainly worth checking out. If you’ve been to Longleat Forest before too then this should definitely give you a reason to return.